Lasting Memories, Hardest Edge
by ElvenLord and Keyblade Wielder
Summary: The sages of the Southern Air Temple wait until Aang is sixteen before they tell him he is the Avatar. He begins his journey just as the Fire Nation destroys his home. Seeing his home in flames sears itself into his memory and remains even after he is rescued from the ice. Will this lasting memory determine the course of his life and training after his re-emergence. ALT TIMELINE


_**Prologue**_

Waves crashed down around him. Lightening rent the sky apart, an eerie reminder of the last thing that he had seen as he made his journey south to the Southern Water Tribe to begin learning the art of Water-bending. He wondered if the monks had gotten it right, making him wait at least 4 years after he became the youngest Air-Bending master at the Southern Air Temple to tell him that he was the Avatar.

He had grown up learning the various disciplines along side Monk Gyatso, learning how to have fun as a child, but also tempering it the discipline necessary to master his abilities. When he got to the age of 12, he had invented his "Air Scooter", which was a profound display of air-bending capability.

He recalled a conversation that he and Gyatso had had previous to his departure. He had been sitting watching the air-bison cubs and the flying lemurs play with the rest of the novices.

"Are you sure that waiting until I was sixteen was the best choice that the Sages could've made?" he had asked.

"I sat down with them nearly four years ago," began Gyatso. "We had made the decision that we would grant you the rank of Air Master thanks to your Air Scooter technique, but the Sages felt that informing you of your destiny as the Avatar at the same time would've caused you too much worry."

 _Well if anything comes of having them wait for the last four years,_ he thought. _It is that I am better prepared, I think, for the responsibility. I've spent time teaching some younger students my techniques and I am ready to learn from other masters the other arts of the four elements_.

He had been informed that there was a family of excellent Water benders in the Southern Water Tribe who were willing to teach him, he just had to make the journey. The southern tribe was closer as he resided at the Southern Air Temple, so it made practical sense.

The journey had started off smooth, but it was soon that a storm had started to brew in the southern ocean. He had long thought that with his extra training and knowledge of air-currents he could navigate the storm, but as he approached the leading edge of the storm, he heard the one thing that would haunt him for the rest of his days.

He heard the grinding of metal as he saw flying machines with the emblem of the Fire Nation sailing through the air. He saw open flames coming from the noses of these vessels and saw the very home he had known for sixteen long years engulfed in fire and smoke. He nearly turned around if it weren't for the stubborness of Appa, his flying bison. Appa took him into the storm and, somewhat thanks to whatever higher providence, managed to avoid most of the wind gusts, but he hit a bad updraft and it threw both him and his master for a loop, causing them to careen out of control and splash into the freezing water.

He was treading water, but Appa was starting to sink, the waves were becoming too much for both of them to contend with. Just as Appa was swallowed by a monster wave, he took his last breath of that day and dove down, trying to use what air he could bend in the water to wave his friend. It seemed that he used too much air and began to passout. Just as he began to pass out, he felt something inside him come to life, and then the last thing he saw with his eyes that day was a glowing blue aura surrounding him and Appa.

Little did he know that the last memory that would stay with him was seeing his very home getting destroyed by the Fire Nation. That memory would keep replaying itself in his mind, despite being kept alive in an iceberg by the Avatar state for the next 100 years.

 _Just a little thought bunny that I had after re-starting to watch the original Avatar, the Last Airbender series. Let me know what you think with a review._


End file.
